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10/31/13

Oh to be young again with a pillow case full of candy... *sigh*.... but I digress... I whipped up some halloween treats for my grand kids school friends. Vampire Suckers!
I used red cellophane to cover the lollipop, then added a black felt vampire cape.... wiggly eyes and some fangs and taaaaaa-daaaaa... a Vampire Sucker!
All boxed up and ready to be taken to school...
While carving my pumpkin, I found a pumpkin seed that had started to sprout and grow inside the pumpkin! What are the odds of that? I took the plant and stuck it into some dirt, if something wants to live that badly--- who am I to chuck it out!
big hugs...

10/28/13

I put in an application to participate at a local hot spot for a Christmas bazaar on December the 14th.... Luck was on my side and I was chosen to be a vendor! Eeeeeek... I'm excited! So to celebrate, I whipped up a bunch of earrings using some vintage beads...

I finally had an excuse to play with some HUGE peat pots that I've been saving for years.... I have a lot of vintage millinery flowers that I have been hoarding. Might as well use them too!

I love the soft colors.... *sigh*....
One of the many things I've been saving is game boards. What? Yep, game boards. Game boards are made of a fabulous thick layered cardboard. It is almost like illustration board--- only better. I've used them for various things in the past... today I whipped them up into boxes! Easy peasy and oh so cute!
I foresee lots and lots of fun things to be made in my future! December is right around the corner!
big hugs,

10/20/13

It seems like all I do is search for things for my pirate back yard.... its getting out of control! Everything I see I mull over in my head, "Hmmm is that something I could stick in my pirate yard?"... often times the answer is, "YES" and home it comes..... eiy-eiy-eiy. A $20.00 wooden wagon? A little brown paint and a little distressing... and it is a pirate wagon! Can you in-vision it loaded with boxes and a few treasure chests.... I sure can!
Some glass bottles and odds and ends of pirate things... Nothing over a dollar....
I also scored two oak barrels for only $10.00 each, and the solid wooden soon to be shelving unit for the pirate bar for only $5.00. It is my plan to create a bar with the two barrels at either end of it.. I've already picked out a name for the bar... "The Barnacle Bar" Wouldn't you know it? Today I bought a bag full of pinkish barnacles for $1.00.... crazy!
I also bought some Black Bamboo and finally got it planted in the back yard, after many days of online research about planting. I found an ad for bamboo on Craigslist and I ended up buying two 15 gallon containers of it. *Hello David--- thanks for the lovely Bamboo!* This entire area is newly created. I am pulling up red pavers and replacing them with cement retaining stones...
Both pots of bamboo only cost $15--- if you have ever priced bamboo, you know this is a fabulous price! Here is a picture looking right, a hot mess! but soon to be a glorious addition to the pirate yaarrrrd!

I have one more bamboo plant I am wanting to divide before putting pieces of it in my lagoon area. Here is some of the bamboo turning black. The long black bamboo is stunning, and I think it really is going to show up well in front of the redwood stained fence.
One of the many antique/junk dealers we regularly see on the weekend always keeps us in mind when he is in search of things to resell. This weekend he had these two wooden tiki masks.... it was love at first sight. Of course I did have to haggle the price, but all in all it was a happy purchase for only $30.00 for the two. The larger one is 31 inches high...
the smaller one is 24 inches....

10/18/13

I finished the Halloween costume I was making for my four year old grand daughter Chloe. She wanted an outfit like the Disney character "Jessie".... so of course, I set out to recreate one especially for her. Of course I did jazz up Chloe's outfit a little more than the actual
Jessie costume. I added shiny rhinestone trim on the yellow part of the
shirt... and instead of a few pieces of fringe on the original costume, I
added long red fringe all the way down each leg of the chaps.... She was very happy with the costume I made her!
I also added a red pony tail down the back which I attached to the actual hat itself.
My grandson wanted in a photo too, luckily my grand daughter has a very tolerable disposition and she puts up with her brother wrestling with her. She is a little love bug...
Okokok.... no more photos!
big hugs,

10/14/13

Oh my goodness the treasures are boundless.... Ok, it might be because no one else wants the JuNk I buy?.... ah, who cares--- its treasures I tell you! Look at all this fun junk stuff!
Three dollar Antlers? Yes, please.... An ornate shelf... okie-dokie!.....

Who turns their back on pirate pots & pans?....
Big pots, little pots, enameled pots and decorative pots.... wooden carved items and even an old wooden cage...
Lanterns, wooden boxes, a few more pots and a hang loose wooden carved objet d'art~

I also bought four plastic bamboo ceiling fan blade covers for a couple of dollars. I am going to stencil a pirate skull onto them and hang them on my fence.
Now, I know what your thinking.. um, thats a whole lot of junk stuff! But really, when you spread it around in a pirate yard... it all seems to make sense. Here are some of the new treasures placed in my yard... The small wooden cage now houses a new critter... Now isn't that the cutest pirate pet you've ever seen?

A large wooden box that I got for fa-ree, I stenciled "explosives" to the sides and I also added the rope for an extra touch.

This entire area is new. I decided to continue the tropical/pirate/tiki theme though out the entire back yard. Might as well go big right?.... Right! This is just the starting point for this area, it still needs some fine tuning and some of the new plants need to be pruned. All that will be done over time. The next pirate party isn't until May--- so I have time.

Here are the two small boxes that I just bought. They didn't come with lids--- I may make lids for them. Who knows~ There is something funny in this vignette.... do you see it? Ok, I thought it was/IS funny--- the candle on top of the box of explosives! *chuckling* I amuse myself!

10/8/13

I bought two plastic pumpkins recently to fill with candy for my two little love bugs... but they just weren't cutting it..... cute... but hmmmmmmm....
My grand daughter is going to dress up as "Jesse" (which reminds me, I better get busy on her costume!) So I thought I would change her plastic pumpkin into a cow.... Now that is caute!
My grand son wants to be a race car driver...lol.... oh that kid! So I made over his little plastic pumpkin into one that looks like it was forged out of metal. Loving it!
I think my grand kids are going to love them!

10/4/13

While in San Juan Batista awhile back, I bought this turning display piece for $6.00. It was totally an "impulse buy" as I wasn't sure what I could use it for... at first.

Fast forward to me trying my hand at playing with some sashay yarn. Whoa, that yarn is fun and super easy to work with. The end result? Ruffled scarves up the wazoo~ I was at a lost as how to display the ruffled scarves until I remembered the revolving white rack I had bought. A quick makeover was in order, and pronto! I unscrewed the hooks that were on this display piece. I may or may not use them in the future, who knows. For now, this piece is all about hanging long scarves from those bars at the top! I covered the entire piece with some pages from an old Sears catalog. Once the piece was covered, I inked the edges with some brown and black ink and then I coated the paper with some clear sealer. A little bit of tan and brown paint to cover the white metal bars and the make over was complete!
Loving it!
I also made another cork board to use as a display, this one is going to sit on my table. The metal stand was a $2.00 yard sale find, the cork board, old frame and the fabric were all $1.00 each--- so for a total of $5.00 I have another fabulous display piece.
I participated at the Artist Market again last night and again had a fabulous time!!!
big hugs,

I am a mixed media artist. I love to sew, embroider, crochet and create things using vintage objects. I love: old classic cars, vintage fabrics, old buttons, cats, shabby chic furniture & linens.... chewing gum, diet pepsi, sneakers, chocolate and gardening~ I like to rummage through thrift stores, yard sales, estate sales and the occasional curbside trash pile. I don't mind getting dirty for treasures! I like to repurpose found objects throughout my home and garden.